


I'm Fine, Just Tired

by JellybeanSweet



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Chae Hyungwon-centric, Everyone Loves Hyungwon, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, No Beta, Sick Chae Hyungwon, Sickfic, Vomiting, We Die Like Men, can definitely be read as one though, especially Hoseok, technically not a ship fic, watch out for that one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-25
Updated: 2019-11-25
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:49:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21554152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JellybeanSweet/pseuds/JellybeanSweet
Summary: In which Hyungwon gets sick, hides it from his members, and ultimately suffers because of it.
Relationships: Chae Hyungwon & Everyone, Chae Hyungwon/Lee Hoseok | Wonho, Chae Hyungwon/Lee Jooheon/Lee Minhyuk/Lim Changkyun/Shin Hoseok/Son Hyunwoo/Yoo Kihyun
Comments: 4
Kudos: 254





	I'm Fine, Just Tired

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first kpop fanfic, so I did my best with honorifics and such. Also, there is a possible trigger warning for vomiting; if that is something that bothers you, or sets you off in any way, I probably would not read this.
> 
> Also, this is technically not a ship fic, but it can totally be read as one, cause I couldn't make up my mind while I was writing it so you know. You do you.

It was really warm. Hyungwon could feel the sweat on his face and he could feel the rest of his body begin to overheat. He blearily opened his eyes as he kicked off his covers. He pulled himself up slightly, shifting just far enough to see the alarm clock on the little table below his bunk and he almost groaned out loud before he realized that he might wake up the other members at two in the morning.

Hyungwon flopped back into bed, and immediately regretted how his body immediately heated up from the warm spot he had been laying in. He whined softly and pulled off his sweatpants he’d put on only a few hours ago due to being cold. He flung said sweats to the end of his bed attempted to pull the covers back up because he couldn’t sleep without some sort of weight on him.

Hyungwon hissed and kicked the covers back off before he pulled off his hoodie. He flung the shirt to join his pants and laid back down in just his underwear and a black t-shirt, pulling only the sheet on top of him. He squished his pillow and wrapped his arms around it, finally closing his bleary eyes and letting himself drift back off to sleep a little bit cooler than before.

——

Someone was shaking him. He was shivering, that much he could tell, but he still felt sweat on his face and the back of his neck. 

Hyungwon blinked his eyes open slowly, bringing his hands up to push his messy, sweaty hair out of his face. 

“Hyungwon-ah, get up, I’ve let you sleep in for half an hour already,” Kihyun said, shaking him a bit harder. “This is the third time I’ve had to wake you up.”

Hyungwon couldn’t remember Kihyun waking him up.

“Come on, up!”

Hyungwon groaned in response, but he sat up anyways, covers falling away from his bare chest and exposing him to the chilled air. He shuddered, but Kihyun had already left the room before noticing. 

Hyungwon shakily climbed down the little ladder, wobbling once he got onto the ground. He stumbled around, looking for a pair of pants and a shirt, something suitable for an interview, which was first on the schedule for the day. He would probably be told to change into something else, but the thought was there. 

After the interview they were going to head to a fan sign; following the fan sign they were supposed to go to rehearsal. After a couple hours of rehearsal, they would be filming a ‘sleep-over’ episode for their show where they were going to play games, cook their own dinner, and so on.

Hyungwon had been awake for not even five minutes and he was already beginning to feel the tiredness sweep in. He stumbled his way to the kitchen, not even bothering to deal with his hair.

He sat down heavily next to Jooheon, the seat on his other side occupied by Minhyuk. Kihyun was moving around in the kitchen, cleaning up what had been used to make breakfast. Hyunwoo set a plate in front of Hyungwon and he blinked a couple times before picking up his fork and beginning to eat.

Wonho slid into the kitchen, rubbing at his eyes a bit but a little smile still gracing his features. He thanked Hyunwoo when he handed him a plate and a glass of water as he sat down. 

I.M appeared, slinking into the kitchen as Kihyun left with his own plate. He grabbed a glass of water and drank half of it before refilling it. He glanced to see that Hyunwoo had brought his plate to the table already and went to sit down, bringing his glass with him.

Everyone ate in silence, enjoying the breakfast they often don’t have time for.

Hyungwon had no appetite, not with how his body felt heavy and his stomach was almost twisting in his gut. He managed to choke down about one fourth of his food and half of his glass before he had to forcibly restrain his body from throwing up. It wasn’t uncommon for Hyungwon to not finish his food, he tended to not eat a lot, but this was still less than usual. 

“Are you okay?” Jooheon asked, turning his head from his seat next to Hyungwon. “You look kind of out of it?” The rest of the table paused eating to look at the visual.

Hyungwon shook his head. “I’m alright, just a lot more tired than the rest of you guys, I guess,” he replied. 

“You need to sleep, Hyungwon-ah,” Hyunwoo cut in. “If anyone needs their rest, it’s you.”

Hyungwon nodded. “I’ll go to be as soon as our schedule is over today.”

Hyungwon got up to clear his plate, taking his glass with him. He cleaned his things and set them aside to dry. He made his way back to his room to deal with his messy hair. He didn’t want to climb into his bed for five minutes, nor did he want to go back out to the living room where they could all find him, so he just sat down on Jooheon’s bed, leaning against the wall quietly and closing his eyes.

He was disturbed about ten minutes later when he heard someone, he wasn’t really listen to their voice, yell that it was time to leave. He got up, slipping his shoes on over his socks before making his way to join the rest of the members. They all piled into their van, Hyungwon making sure he made it to the back corner, and they were on their way to the interview. 

Hyungwon couldn’t help that his eyes slipped closed and his body tilted forwards. Had the seatbelt not been there, he probably would have slammed his face into the seat in front of him. Instead, the seatbelt locked and caught him, which woke him up. He then moved himself closer to the side of the car to rest his head against it.

Hyungwon completely missed the slightly worried look that I.M and Jooheon gave him, as they were sitting in the back alongside him. He was already fast asleep.

——

Hyungwon jerked awake as the car came to a quick halt, disoriented awfully and pulled from his fevered state. He could feel the sweat beginning to gather, but he just sighed and shook his head.

“Oh, you’re awake?” Jooheon asked, turning to look at Hyungwon. 

“Sadly, yes,” he muttered. Jooheon snorted at him and shook his head. “We’re a couple minutes away, so you should stay awake.”

Hyungwon nodded. He stayed leaning against the car interior, but kept his eyes open. 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Jooheon asked quietly. 

“Promise,” Hyungwon replied. “Just couldn’t sleep much last night.”

“How come?”

Hyungwon shrugged. “Just couldn’t.” 

Jooheon, although a bit suspicious, took the answer as the truth and nodded. 

They arrived at the building to do the interview shortly after, all of the members getting out of the car. Hyungwon got out last, behind the prying eyes of his members and hopefully shielded behind them as well, as far away from the cameras as he could get. They walked into the building, sitting down for about half an hour to do very light makeup and any hair adjustments.

“Ah, Hyungwon-ah, your hair,” the makeup noona whined. She fiddled around with it for a moment before seemingly giving up. “What did you do, walk through a tornado?”

Hyungwon gave her a weak little smile. “Sorry, noona, I was really restless.”

She just sighed. It took her another ten minutes to get him looking, as she said, ‘acceptable’, which made Hyungwon feel guilty, but he couldn’t help that he was sweating more than usual and his hair was untamed. 

“Sorry, noona,” Hyungwon apologized again. “I’ll try to do better next time.” 

The woman showed him a bright smile. “Ah, I’m just complaining. You look wonderful as always.”

That comment made him feel just a little bit better, but not much. The feeling of guilt about being sick during such a busy time settled in his right, right alongside the sickness.

——

Hyungwon was mostly silent during the interview, something not totally uncommon with him. He was, also like usual, centered on when a question came up about who they thought was the most handsome.

“Ah!” Wonho said. “Hyungwon!” He leaned forward to look at the tallest member. Hyungwon smiled back as the rest of the members began to talk about it.

“And you, Hyungwon?” The interviewer asked. “What do you have to say about how everyone says you’re handsome?”

Hyungwon flushed, though he was probably already pretty red. At least he could play it off as being embarrassed rather then sick. 

“It’s nice that everyone thinks that way. It’s really a pleasant feeling,” he said simply, which made Wonho give him a slightly strange look. Usually when someone asked him about being a visual, he would tell them no, or comment about how attractive all of them were and not just himself, but Hyungwon chose the one thing that ended the conversation before it started. Wonho packed his thoughts into the back of his mind.

The interview made another comment about how handsome he was before moving on, and Hyungwon just gave him a tight-lipped smile.

The interviewer went on about their songs, other random questions, and finally the interview was over. The members thanked the interviewer, the interviewer thanked them, and they all filed out of the room and into the hallway before heading back down to get into their car and head to the fan sign. 

Hyungwon was behind everyone as they headed into the car. He stumbled very slightly, but based on the fact the Wonho grabbed his arm to steady him meant that maybe he wasn’t being as discreet as he thought he was.

Hyungwon wasn’t really listening, but he knew that Wonho had gotten them both seats in the back row. Hyungwon was in his same spot, but this time Wonho was next to him and Minhyuk on Wonho’s other side. 

“Are you alright?” Wonho finally asked as the van began to move. He lifted his arm and ran a hand through the younger man's hair. Hyungwon was surprised that he didn’t feel how warm he must be.

Hyungwon hummed in response, then answered. “I’m really okay, hyung. I just didn’t sleep well.”

“You seem kind of out of it today,” he murmured. He moved his hand towards the younger man's forehead, but a soft comment made him pause.

“M’ tired, Wonnie. I promise that’s it.”

Hyungwon shut his eyes and rested his head on Wonho’s shoulder. He fell asleep within seconds.

Wonho let it go, his hand dropping down onto the boys thighs. He let Hyungwon rest. 

——

Hyungwon was woken up this time by a soft shake to his shoulder. He sniffled and snuggled feeling into whatever his head was resting on.

“Hyungwonnie, we’re here. You just gotta get out of the car and walk for a couple minutes and then you can go back to sleep,” a voice comforted. 

Hyungwon made an effort to crack open his eyes. He lifted his head off of Hoseok's shoulder and almost rubbed at his eyes before he remembered that he had makeup on.

He let himself he led out of the car. For a couple seconds the hand holding his arm let go, and he was re-grabbed on the other arm. His bleary eyes saw the man he had been snuggling up to catching up with Jooheon, who also looked like he had been sleeping not a minute ago, catching the boy from tripping as they walked.

Hyungwon turned his head to the side slightly and saw that it was Hyunwoo that had taken his arm. He felt a smaller hand gently place itself on his arm where Wonho’s hand hand been, not gripping but simply laying, and Hyungwon turned his head back to that side to see that Changkyun was now walking beside him. He turned his head back to the front, gently tapping at his eyes in an attempt to wake himself up.

They entered the building, heading backstage to get ready before the event was to actually begin. He was immediately pushed into a chair and a girl with makeup and hair products was latched onto him.

“Ah, I have to completely redo your hair,” she told him. “You are too sweaty. I will probably have to spend a lot of time on your face, too. A lot of your foundation came off.”

Hyungwon nodded, fully intending to nod off for the third time in one day while she did her work, but he couldn’t. 

Don’t get him wrong, he was still tired and not even fully awake from a few minutes ago when he had been in the car, asleep, but something about the lights, or the extra heat from whatever she was doing to his hair, or maybe it was the smells from all the products, was keeping him wide awake. 

He lost time, sure, but his eyes never shut and he never relaxed. 

Eventually Jooheon came around, completely finished. He noticed Hyungwon’s head was beginning to drop, so he held Hyungwon’s head up to help the makeup noona. Hyungwon eventually protested and held up his own head. What the other two didn’t know was that he had asked Jooheon to stop because the gentle hands on his throat were not helping him ignore how much he wanted to throw up. 

Changkyun came around next, most likely having been on a hunt to find Jooheon. They talked to one another softly besides Hyungwon, who was still not even done with his hair.

“This should be easy, but you’re just really sweaty, so your hair isn’t really sticking in place,” the woman doing his hair complained. “I’m really gonna have to use a lot of hairspray.”

The thought of smelling sickly-sweet hairspray for hours made Hyungwon’s stomach churn, but he stayed silent and let her work. 

With the passing of ten more minutes came Hyunwoo and Kihyun, both also done, and probably had been for a while.

The woman doing his hair finally seemed satisfied and gave him a bright smile. “Finally we can move on,” she muttered to herself, but Hyungwon could hear it, and it really didn’t make him feel any better. He almost apologized, but the sound of footsteps shut him up as he saw Wonho enter the room. 

“You’re still getting ready?” Wonho asked, settling into a chair nearby. He scooted closer to watch Hyungwon continue to get his makeup done.

Hyungwon just grunted lowly in response. His head tipped forwards but he jerked back up, blinking rapidly. 

The makeup noona ‘tsk’-ed at him. “Please stay still, Hyungwon-ah,” she murmured, quietly applying some concealer to cover his probably now-evident eye bags. He looked up so she could blend it out, just staring at her forehead for what seemed like hours.

“Close your eyes.” He did as told, and time passed him by.

——

“Hey! Hyungwon!” a loud voice yelped. He felt hands grab his shoulders, which caused him to jerk up and away from the touch.

“I’m here!” he announced, blinking. His eyes focused on Minhyuk. He looked around to see that nobody, save himself and his hyung, were in the room.

“Are you okay?” 

“Yeah just… disoriented.”

“Clearly. Come on, we have to go. We’re supposed to be going out really soon.”

Minhyuk pulled him up and out of his seat. Hyungwon let out a soft huff as he stood for the first time in a while. Minhyuk steadied him, an arm wrapped around his waist. 

“Where is everyone else?” Hyungwon asked as they left the room and went into the hallway. Minhyuk retracted his arm from the youngest waist, though his eyes never left him.

“They’re already lined up. Apparently they all scattered once you fell asleep again. Hoseok held your head for a little while, so noona could finish your makeup, but once you were done, they all went to grab snacks. I had just finished up, so they grabbed me on their way. We just lining up when we realized that you were probably either asleep or hadn’t checked the time, so they sent me to come get you.”

Hyungwon nodded in understanding. They walked to the entrance to the stage together. As they got closer, Hyungwon could hear more of their voices. He instantly felt a bit more comforted by being around his members.

“See? I told you he was still in that room,” Wonho declared, a teasing smile on his face. “Was he still sleeping?”

Minhyuk rolled his eyes as Hyunwoo sighed. 

“Yes, and so did I,” Minhyuk said. He dragged Hyungwon forwards a couple more steps before he finally stopped. “I present: Chae Hyungwon, literally sleeping not two minutes ago.”

Hyungwon blushed in embarrassment as the group all turned towards him, but then they were told to go onto the stage, so out they went to meet their fans for the next couple of hours. 

Hyungwon made sure to grab a seat on the end, closest to the door for a quick escape if need be.

——

“Are you sick, Hyungwon-ssi?”

“No, I’m feeling all happy and healthy, just a little sleepy. But don’t worry about me. What do you want me to sign?”

——

“Hyungwon-ah, you conscious over there?”

“Yeah, I just spaced out. Sorry hyung.”

——

“Hyungwon? Hyungwon?”

“Hm?”

“You okay? … Hyungwon?”

——

Hyungwon sighed, rubbed at his temples gently. God, his head really hurt. At least that was kind of taking his focus away from how his stomach was churning. 

Hyungwon looked over to their manager, a small little head movement beckoning him over. Nobody was near Hyungwon, nor would anyone be coming for another five minutes, probably, so his manager walked over to hear whatever he had to say.

“Can I take a break?” Hyungwon asked quietly. “I’d just like to use the bathroom and grab some advil.”

“Are you in pain?” the manager asked. 

“Ah, just a small headache. I mostly just have to pee.” 

Their manager nodded. “Be quick.” 

Hyungwon thanked him. He turned to Wonho, who was sitting next to him, waiting for the fan to be done with Kihyun.

“I’ll be right back,” he said, pushing back his chair and standing.

Wonho raises his eyebrows. “Where to?”

“Bathroom.” 

Wonho nodded, looking away. Hyungwon turned and walked at a normal pace until he was out of sight. He picked up the pace, weaving through the few staff members that were behind the stage. When he was fully out of sight he broke into a sprint to reach the nearest bathroom. He pushed open the door and locked it behind him before stumbling over to the single toilet in the room. He fell onto his knees and heaved, just stomach acid, water, and saliva coming up.

Hyungwon coughed, throat burning. He tried to even out his breathing as his stomach relaxed, managing to do so in a few minutes. He sighed before struggling to his feet. He flushed the toilet and shuffled to the sink. He washed his hands and cleaned up his mouth. He dabbed away the sweat on his face, careful not to ruin the makeup, and left the bathroom. 

Hyungwon found some Advil, took three on a completely empty stomach, and returned to his spot next to Wonho, doing his best to look refreshed.

He wasn’t really sure how well he succeeded in doing so. He wasn’t really sure of a lot, right now.

——

“Hyung?”

“Yeah?”

“I think somethings wrong with Hyungwonnie.”

“Why do you say that?”

“He looks tired.”

“He says he’s tired.”

“Yeah, but… I don’t know.”

“Minhyuk, I’m sure he’s okay.”

“If something is wrong, he’d tell us, right?”

“I would think that, if he thinks something is actually wrong, he would tell at least one of us.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Thanks Hyunwoo-hyung.”

He nodded, and Minhyuk looked away. 

——

“Thank you!” all seven members of Monsta X shouted, bowing. They stood up and waved goodbye, faces bright with smiles on their face. Hyungwon, has anybody been hyper focused on him, would have been able to see the sweat on his forehead and the way his smile wasn’t quiet there. They all waved again before filing off the stage. 

“Whoooo!” Minhyuk cheered, doing a little dance. “Now we have time to eat lunch and then practice, and then we get to record!” 

“Ramen!” Wonho shouted, shaking his fists excitedly.

“No,” Minhyuk whined. “Why do you always-”

Hyungwon checked out of the conversation as they made their way to the van, walking in a daze.

He checked back in when he heard his name being called by their manager. 

“Hyungwon-ah, can I talk to you for a moment?”

Hyungwon stopped walking, letting their manager catch up. Their manager gestures to the rest of the group to keep going, so they shrugged and continued on their way.

“Hyungwon, is something wrong? You seem really out of it.”

“Ah, I’m fine, I’m just-”

“Tired. I know. Hyunwoo is worried. He said you looked tired and spaced out for more of the fan sign. He also said that the makeup artist was aging difficulty with you today because you were sweating more than usual.”

Hyungwon sighed. “Manager-nim, I don’t want to skip practice over something small.”

“If you aren’t feeling well, practice will not make you feel any better. Listen to me, Won-ah; the recording tonight is important, it’s going to be long and you are going to be up really late because of it. If you aren’t feeling well now, you won’t feel better after practice, and you certainly won’t feel better trying to stay awake. I’ll drop them off at the studio for practice, and I will have them drop you off at the dorm so you can shower, take some medicine, and rest.”

“I don’t want them to feel like I’m getting special treatment.” 

“Listen, I’m sure that they’ll feel better knowing that you’re trying to get better rather than trying to push through it.”

Hyungwon dropped his shoulder and breathed deeply. “Okay. Fine. Alright, I’ll rest, but I’m not going to skip out on the recording.”

Their manager nodded and let him to the car, where the only empty seat was in the middle of the backseat. He climbed in, moving his way around Kihyun, and collapsed between Changkyun and Hyunwoo. He closed his eyes to try and fall asleep like every other time he has been in the car, but this time it didn’t come.

He slumped over onto Hyunwoo, head resting on his shoulder and body slightly tilted toward him. He would be strewn across his lap is the seat belt wasn’t there to stop him. He evened out his breathing, partially conscious, but he looked and sounded fully asleep. 

“Mhh, asleep again?” Wonho asked, turning from where he sat in front of Changkyun. 

“Already?” Kihyun muttered. “Wow, he must be exhausted or something. This is like time number five or something.”

Hyunwoo ran a hand through the visuals hair. “He’s warm,” he commented. 

Changkyun scooted closer to his hyung. He grabbed the closer hand and interlocked their fingers. He squeezed gently, rubbing his thumb over the man's skin. 

“He is warm,” he agreed. 

The van fell silent.

——

They parked at the studio, and before Hyunwoo or Changkyun could do anything to wake up the visual, their manager spoke. 

“Let him sleep,” their manger said, gesturing for the rest of them to get out of the car. They left him buckled up in the middle of the back seat.

The members, save Hyungwon, unloaded themselves from the van and closed the doors behind him.

“Is he okay?” Jooheon asked. “Why are we leaving him in there?”

Their manager just shook his head. “I’m sure you’ve seen how tired he’s been today, yes?”

The members made noises of confirmation.

“Well, I told him that I noticed that he seemed tired, and he said that he was. I was worried about the recording tonight, because you’ll all be staying up late, so I told him that if he was so tired that he was falling asleep in the car and even while getting makeup, like Hyunwoo told me he was, then he should rest. He argued with me about it, said that he was fine and didn’t want to skip out on practice, but I insisted and he eventually gave in.”

“I’m glad he accepted that he needs to rest,” Minhyuk muttered. “He’s been really out of it today.” 

Kihyun turned and faced their manager fully. “Are you sure it’s just that he’s tired? Did he seem sick?”

Their manager sighed, knowing he was most likely sick, but he wanted the members to be focused, not worried. “He seems fatigued. I told him to sleep to feel better. Hopefully, if he is actually feeling sick, he will take medicine as well. Now, go in, you have rehearsal.” He shooed then inside and returned to the idling car to drive Hyungwon home.

——

Hyungwon stumbled through their front door, locking it behind him. He pushed his sweaty hair out of his face and groaned. 

First things first, medicine, shower, maybe eat something small, and then sleep. 

He made his way to the bathroom, looking around for something to help and settled on gross artificial-cherry flavored cough/flu medicine. He choked it down and almost gagged at the taste. 

Hyungwon slipped into the shower, lost track of time, and got out. He stumbled his way back to his bedroom in a pair of boxers and a short sleeve shirt, forgoing getting something to eat despite knowing that medicine on an empty stomach is generally not a good idea. Then he remembered that he had a top bunk. He shook his head at the thought of climbing the ladder before grabbing his favorite pillow and collapsing into Wonho’s bed.

He snuggled underneath the covers, deeply inhaling the comforting scent clinging to the sheets as he settled down. The covers were heavy on him, weighing him down and making him sleepy. He drifted off within a few minutes, head resting on his own pillow and his arms clutching one of Wonho’s. 

——

Hyungwon woke up feeling better. He groaned, stretching out a bit before he realized that he was on his side and arms were loosely wrapped around his waist. He rubbed at his eyes, much like a young child, and turned to face whoever was hugging him. Hyungwon smiled when he saw Hoseok fast asleep and he snuggled into him a bit.

Hoseok blinked open his eyes when he felt the movement. 

“Ah, you’re awake. You were asleep when I got here, and I got to shower first, so I thought I’d take a little nap with you since you were in my bed,” he said, voice groggy with sleep. “Are you feeling better?”

“Yeah, the rest really helped.”

Hoseok made a noise of confirmation and pushed himself into a sitting position. He glanced at the nearby clock and sighed. 

“Come on, we have to go back to the studio to record our sleepover video.”

Hyungwon sighed but got up. He watched as his hyung slid out of the covers. Hyungwon sat back down on the bed as Hoseok got dressed, watching him change into a pair of sleep pants and a shirt sleeve shirt; it made him look good, but also something he would probably sleep in.

“Hyungwon, get dressed.” 

Hyungwon whined, giving the older man a pouting face, causing him to sigh. He left the room and same back a minute later with a pair of Hyungwon’s black sweats. He told Hyungwon to put them on before he returned to his own closet.

Hyungwon stood and slipped on the pants as Hoseok walked back over. Hoseok set down his own long sleeve shirt, sleeves decorated with delicate red roses, on the bed. He pulled off Hyungwon’s t-shirt and threw it into the laundry before he tugged his long sleeve shirt onto the taller mans body.

“There,” he said, fixing Hyungwon’s hair. “You’re finally ready to go back to bed.”

Hyungwon huffed out a little laugh, a small smile gracing his features; he thanked Hoseok and followed him out of the bedroom. 

They headed down to the living room where the rest of Monsta X was waiting, all of them dressed in their own versions on pajamas and sleepwear.

“We were about to come get you,” Hyunwoo stated, looking up from his phone as the two walked into the room.

“Hyungwonnie, are you feeling any better?” Minhyuk asked, skipping over to the visual to place a cool hand on his forehead. “You’re a little warm.”

“Stop worrying, hyung. I just got out of bed, I’d be concerned if I wasn’t warm,” Hyungwon said, shaking off his hand. 

Kihyun took a few steps over and laid both of his cool hands on Hyungwon’s cheeks. “A little flushed, but you look better than before. I’m sure you’ll be just fine within a few hours.”

The rest of the group nodded in agreement. 

“Ah, I wanted to apologize for skipping out on rehearsal, I-”

“No, don’t apologize. You felt bad and you needed rest. We understand, Hyungwon-ah. Please tell us you’re feeling that tired the next time, we might be able to do something to help,” Hyunwoo cut in. “Seriously.”

Hyungwon gave them a little smile. “I will.”

They left the dorm together, piling into the van to head to the studio to record.

——

Jooheon yelped when Hoseok slammed a pillow into his face, full force of his body making the young rapper fall backwards from where he was sitting.

“That’s what you get for eating my ramen yesterday!” Hoseok snapped, hitting him again, though clearly this time it was much lighter of a hit.

“Ah! I’m sorry!” Jooheon screeched, arms up to defend himself. “Changkyun, get him!”

I.M charged Hoseok from the side. Despite his much smaller built, the older man was caught off guard and sent tumbling to the floor with their maknae on top of him. Changkyun sat up on Hoseok’s lap and hit him in the chest with a throw pillow over and over.

“This means war!” Minhyuk retaliated, pushing Changkyun off of Hoseok and letting out some weird version of a war cry. He hit the youngest with his own pillow before Jooheon tackled him to the ground. Hoseok scrambled off the floor, but he was brought right back down by a tackle from Hyunwoo.

“Hey!” Wonho cried, trying to push their leader off of him, but he had been pinned down and was having some difficulty getting up. Kihyun slammed himself into Hyunwoo, pushing him off of Wonho before getting pinned down himself.

“Ah! When did this become a wrestling match!” Hyungwon yelled from where he was sitting on the floor, behind the table they had been playing board games on. “It’s a pillow fight!”

A stray pillow coming from Jooheon smacked the visual directly in the face, hard. He rocked back, knees smacking the bottom of the table from where he had jerked them in surprise. He groaned loudly, scooting away from the table and gripping at his knees in pain.

“I’m sorry!” Jooheon yelped, immediately leaving his spot on top of Minhyuk to rub at the older mans knees.

“Ah, are you okay?” Kihyun asked, shuffling his way over. 

“Fine,” Hyungwon grunted. “Just surprised me, is all.”

The rest of the members sent him sympathetic looks as he rolled his eyes and continued to MC.

“Well, this seems like a good place to stop the pillow fight,” Hyungwon said, turning to the camera with a smile on his face. “They’ve worked up quite an appetite, so it’s time to make some late night snacks before bed!”

The members all cheered at the thought of food.

“Ramen!” Hoseok yelled, fists pumping in the air out of excitement. 

“No!” Minhyuk countered.

“Guys!” Hyunwoo shouted over them both. “We’re making ramen-“

“Hah!”

“And we’re also making Samgyeopsal,” he finished.

“Yes! Hah!” Minhyuk shouted.

“Oh dear lord,” Hyungwon muttered, facepalming into his queue cards. “This will go fantastically.”

——

The smell of the meat and ramen cooking was making Hyungwon feel sick. The medicine he’d taken earlier was probably still running through his system, but the advil he’d taken to alleviate his headache and stomach cramps had definitely worn off because he could feel the pain beginning to come back.

Hyungwon couldn’t decide if it was the heat of the little stove thing that was making him sweat, or if it was heat flashes like he’d been having earlier in the day. He cursed whatever had made him feel better for those few hours, because he’d forgotten how awful feeling like this had been and it was almost five times as difficult to deal with it since he’d felt what it was like to be okay.

The members finished cooking their dinner, dishing themselves large portions. Hyungwon forced himself to take a bowl of ramen. He put down his queue cards and and picked up the warm bowl and a pair of chopsticks. He slowly began to eat as the other members asked each other questions fan had asked them.

“Oh, this is a fun one,” Minhyuk laughed. “Shownu and Wonho, can you two please arm wrestle?”

The two grinned at each other and scooted towards the table. They placed their elbows on the table and clasped their hands together. 

“Three, two, one,” Minhyuk counted off, and the two started.

“Ah, they're gonna crack the table before either of them even gets close to winning,” Jooheon teased, though he was immersed in watching the two of them go back and forth in minuscule moments.

Hyungwon could feel the late hour seeping its way into his body. He was getting tired, and his stomach was still upset. The ramen had not really helped, he still felt like he was going to be sick. He sucked it up, especially because he’d already skipped rehearsal earlier.

He could almost feel his body struggling to keep up with what was going on around him as his leader and second oldest continued their little game. Hoseok had gotten Hyunwoo’s arm bent back a bit, but it wasn’t much.

Hyungwon could feel the sweat dripping down his neck. He could feel it sliding down his back and he almost began to take off his shirt before something in the back of his mind told him not to.

He dabbed at his face with his sleeve over his hand, hoping to soak up the sweat. He inhaled deeply, catching Hoseok’s scent from the sleeve of the shirt he wore that belonged to his hyung. He let his arms drop back down to his lap and groaned inaudibly. His hand moved to grip around his stomach, but the action was hidden from view by the little cloth over the table.

The temperature of the room seemed to raise ten degrees and he was sweating badly. Sweat ran down his face like he had just finished a concert and he just looked down at the floor to hide from the camera and his members.

Hyungwon rolled up his sleeves in an attempt to cool himself off, but all it did was show his unusually flushed skin. He hastily pulled the long sleeve shirt back down, but the heat came hurtling back in full. He almost groaned audibly, but once again, this nagging voice in the back of his head told him not to make any noise.

It was so hot. Sweat ran down his face, neck, back, and his chest. He was starting to feel the sweat on his legs, which was a little unusual for him.

Hyungwon wilted to the left, head resting on Changkyuns shoulder. The youngest startled, head snapping to the side to see the visual, but immediately calmed down when he realized the elder was probably just tired. Then his panic arose again when he felt how warm he was and how his eyes were glazed over.

“Ah, Hyungwon?” the maknae asked loudly. “Are you okay?”

The lack of a response is what really made him worry. He waved a hand in front of Hyungwon’s face, but the older man didn’t react.

“Hey, Hyungwon!” he said, louder this time, getting the attention of everyone else in the room. “What’s wrong?”

Hyungwon didn’t respond. His eyes drooped and then shut. He lost all tension in his body and slumped forwards into the youngest’s lap.

Changkyun almost whimpered are the sight of his hyung fainting in his arms and the room went silent as everyone processed what just happened.

Hyunwoo was the first to move, standing up and rushing over to the two members. He hissed when he put a hand on the visuals forehead.

“He’s burning up. I think he fainted,” the leader said. “Someone get some ice and a thermometer please. We need to cool him down.” The staff practically went flying out of the room.

The rest of the members crowded around their visual. Hoseok whined, reaching forewords to brush Hyungwon’s hair out of his face and wipe of some sweat. He gently pressed his cold hands on the mans flushed cheeks. Hyungwon groaned loudly from the floor.

“Hyungwonnie, can you hear me?” Kihyun asked softly. Hyungwon whined, his head dipping down into a slight little nod. “That’s good. Can you tell me what’s wrong?”

“‘Ssss hot,” he slurred, eyes cracking open into slits. He blindly grabbed at the closest member, his hand twisting weakly into the fabric of Minhyuk's shirt. “Mm… sick…” he continued, hand dropping from his hyungs shirt. 

“Yeah, you’re running a fever,” Jooheon explained softly, grabbing Hyungwon’s free hand.

Hyungwon shook his head. “Gonna be... sick.”

Jooheons eyes widened in realization. He bounced up from the floor and grabbed the nearest trash can.

“Get him up,” he ordered. Changkyun pulled his hyung into a sitting position, but clearly was having a little difficulty holding a completely limp man. 

Hoseok slid in where Changkyun was, gesturing for them to switch. The youngest gladly moved the visual into his hyungs arms; he stumbled back and curled into Minhyuk, eyes glued to the fevered man.

Hyungwon weakly clutched at his stomach. He gagged, clearly trying to hold himself back.

“It’s okay,” Hyunwoo soothed, rubbing Hyungwon’s back. “Let it go, it’s okay.”

Hyungwon gagged again, but this time Hoseok pulled the trash can closer and Hyungwon followed their leaders instructions. He heaved into the trash can, stomach tight.

“There you go,” Hyunwoo murmured. He gestured for everyone, save himself and Hoseok, who was holding Hyungwon, to scoot back. 

The rest of the members all backed up so as not to overwhelm the visual. The four of them huddled close together, watching their hyungs try to calm Hyungwon, who was still gagging.

“It’s alright,” Hoseok hummed. He pushed Hyungwons hair out of his face with his free hand. Hyungwon gagged again. The noises coming from his mouth made the rest of the members cringe. Jooheon had to cover his mouth and ears so he didn’t throw up himself.

Hyungwon coughed, a bit of stomach acid still coming from his mouth. He tried to suck in a breath but gagged again, though there wasn’t anything left. He tried to breath again, only sucking in a short breath before he gagged.

He had nothing left in his stomach save acid, resulting in him dry heaving over and over again while Hoseok and Hyunwoo gently rubbed his back.

Eventually he slowed down, a couple gags every minute or so. 

“There you go,” Hoseok murmured, gently pulling him away from the trash can when his mouth closed. “You’re doing great.” 

The staff had come back at some point. A woman handed Hyunwoo the thermometer and the cool cloth. 

“Lay down for me, Hyungwonnie,” Hoseok whispered, maneuvering around so Hyungwon could lay his on his back, his head resting on Hoseok’s thigh. Hyunwoo placed the cold compress on his forehead; Hyungwon let out a deep groan as it was placed, his hand weakly raising to find Hoseok’s.

“Can someone grab some water?” Hoseok asked. A staff member handed him a bottle and he uncapped it and put it to Hyungwon’s lips. “Slowly,” he murmured, giving him just enough to wash the taste of his stomach from his mouth.

“Open up, Wonnie,” Hyunwoo murmured. He placed the thermometer in the boys mouth. It beeped a minute or so later and he let out a low whistle. “103.4 degrees. He’s running a really high fever.” 

“Darling,” Hoseok whispered, brushing the visuals sweaty hair off his face. “How long have you been feeling sick?”

“This morning,” Hyungwon mumbled. “Early… I was okay after napping… fine…” His eyes fluttered and he whined weakly. “‘M tired… ‘n… hot…” He pushed himself into a sitting position, startling almost everyone in the room; the towel on his forehead hit the ground with a loud ‘smack’. He grumbled and stood up with a wobble. Hoseok scrambled to stand next to him.

“Hey, Hyungwon, maybe you shouldn’t-” Jooheon started, but he was cut off by surprise. “Hyung!”

Hyungwon’s eyes rolled back and he went limp again, collapsing into Hoseok’s arms. The muscular man caught him and held him up. Everyone was stunned into silence.

“We should take him to the hospital,” their manager said, taking everyone’s attention. “Members, I know you will ask anyways, so please come with me to the hospital. The recording we have is enough.”

Hoseok lifted the unconscious Hyungwon into his arms in a bridal carry. He tucked the taller mans head into the crook of his neck and followed their manager to the car. They piled onto the van and set off for the hospital.

——

“He’ll be fine, right?” Changkyun paced. “He’s fine. It’s just a fever. Right?”

Hyunwoos leg bounced in anticipation. He was nervous; the members were all rubbing off on each other, each getting more anxious the longer time passed. 

Hoseok had disappeared with Kihyun and Minhyuk about half an hour ago. They said they were going to get coffee, but Hyunwoo had a suspicion that Kihyun and Hoseok had taken Minhyuk away to let him cry in private. 

Hyunwoo heard footsteps and looked up to see the three members returning. Minhyuk was asleep on Hoseok’s back, his cheeks and under eyes red, but otherwise sound asleep. Kihyun held a little tray of coffees and walked beside Hoseok.

“Any news?” Kihyun asked softly. 

“Not yet,” Jooheon answers, taking his americano from Kihyun's hands. “They’re still treating him or something.”

Hoseok set Minhyuk down in a chair. He slumped over onto Hyunwoo’s shoulder, but stayed fast asleep. 

Hoseok himself grabbed his coffee from Kihyun and collapsed into a chair. They stayed like that, slumped in the most uncomfortable hospital chairs, for god knows how long, until a doctor came over. By then, Minhyuk was still asleep, Changkyun and Jooheon had joined him, Kihyun was wavering in and out, and Hyunwoo and Hoseok had long since spaced-out. 

“Are you guys here for Chae Hyungwon?” He asked. 

Hoseok blinked out of his stupor. “Uh-huh,” he confirmed, sitting up straighter. He looked around to see that Kihyun was out, and Hyunwoo had closed his eyes while staring at nothing. 

“He is asleep right now, we have him hooked up to an IV and he was given some pretty heavy fever reducers. He has a severe stomach flu, which is the cause of the fever. He was running a high fever when he got here, and since then it has dropped a bit, but we would like to keep him for the rest of the night for observation. You are welcome to stay in his room for now. He is in room 208, just down the hall, if you would like to go see him.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Hoseok said, bowing to the man and thanking him again as he left. 

Hoseok called their manager and told him the news, to which he said he already knew, somehow. He also said that their schedule for the next few days had been completely cleared, and it could be further cleared depending on Hyungwons condition and such. Hoseok thanked their manager before he hung up.

Hoseok shook Hyunwoo awake.

“Hyungwon is asleep and in room 208,” he told him. Hyunwoo nodded. “Let’s just carry them into the room. The doctor said it was just down the hall.”

The two men took turns carrying the rest of their members into Hyungwons room. First Changkyun, then Jooheon, Kihyun, and Minhyuk.

The two eldest settled the others into spare chairs before falling into their own. Hyunwoo scooted his chair up on one side of Hyungwon and Hoseok was on the other. They each took one of his hands in their own and laid their upper bodies on his hospital bed, quickly joining the rest of the team in a deep sleep.

Before he drifted off, Hoseok made sure he could feel Hyungwon’s, not just hear it, no matter how faint it was.

——

“Hyung…” Hoseok felt something shaking his shoulder. “Hyung… hyung please get up…”

Hoseok blinked his eyes open and sprung up. “Hyungwonnie, you’re awake.”

Hyungwon smiled weakly. “What happened? I just remember… I remember I threw up, but afterwards I don’t know what happened.”

“You passed out, basically. You really scared us,” Minhyuk cut in, rubbing his eyes as he walked over to sit down on the bed. “Are you feeling any better?”

“Better than before, yeah. I’m still… I’m still a little tired.”

Hoseok squeezed his hand. “That’s okay.”

Minhyuk gave Hyungwon a big smile and hugged him gently, feeling the boys arms slowly come up to embrace him back. “I’m happy you’re feeling better, even if it’s not much.

Hoseok stood up and kissed Hyungwon’s forehead gingerly. He ran a hand through his hair before sitting down on the bed near Hyungwon’s chest. “Do you want to see hi to everyone else?” he asked. 

Hyungwon nodded, eyes flickering over his members. “Changkyunnie?”

Minhyuk nodded and stood up. He gently shook their youngest, who let out a groan.

“What time is it?” he asked, sitting up straight. His eyes wandered around until he saw Hyungwon looking at him with sleepy eyes and a smile. He sprang from his seat and shuffled over, caressing the visuals cheeks. “Ah, you’ve cooled down. I’m really glad you’re awake.”

Hyungwon beamed. He reached up and grabbed the maknaes hand. He squeezed it before letting go and looking back to Hoseok. 

“Joohoney next,” he pouted. Hoseok laughed and gestured for Minhyuk to get the young rapper. Changkyun moved off to the side to observe. 

Jooheon woke up quickly, albeit disoriented by the change of scenery from when he fell asleep. “Where-“ he began, but cut himself off when he saw Hyungwon awake. “Hyung! You’re awake!” He practically skipped over to Hyungwon. He bent over him and gave him little kisses all over his flushed face. “Welcome back from the dead.”

“Thank you, honey,” Hyungwon teased. Jooheon just smiled.

Hoseok motioned for Minhyuk to wake up Kihyun and Hyunwoo. 

Once everyone was awake and conscious they held Hyungwon tight.

“Next time you’re feeling sick, Hyungwonnie,” Hoseok said, “you need to tell us.” He planted another kiss on the visuals head, earning the whole team a precious laugh. 

“I will,” he replied. “I promise.”


End file.
